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Wynn Las Vegas opened on April 25, 2005, on the land once occupied by the Desert Inn, located on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.
Twenty years later, the casino, resort, and golf club remain the epitome of luxury in Las Vegas. The company recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a party for all and a sweet bonus for employees who have been with the company since opening.
Even though the property is constantly updated, its core competencies remain intact. The design is continuously updated, the premier service from Wynn employees remains second-to-none, and the fine dining remains a step ahead of every other Las Vegas casino. The property has continued to offer a superior experience even though its founder and namesake, Steve Wynn is no longer with the company.
Wynn has expanded in Las Vegas, contemplated new and unique additions, and has plans to continue growing its empire well into the future. Meanwhile, the company also plans to expand internationally, with a new casino currently under construction in the United Arab Emirates.
The Beginning Of Wynn Las Vegas
Before opening Wynn, the mastermind behind the property oversaw two important Las Vegas casinos. In 1973, Steve Wynn took over ownership of the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas, renovating and upgrading the iconic casino into the crown jewel of the area.
Wynn’s vision then moved to the Las Vegas Strip, where he was responsible for opening The Mirage, Bellagio, and Treasure Island – transforming the Strip with a new level of luxury and spectacle.
As the 1990s came to a close, Wynn took a brief hiatus from the casino business after selling his company, Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand (now MGM Resorts) for $4.4 billion.
In late 2001, Wynn announced he was planning a new casino called La Reve where the Desert Inn was located. The plan for the property was to compete with luxury casinos like Bellagio.
The name of the property was changed before opening because market research showed that “people were three times more favorably inclined to visit a property named after the casino developer than one named Le Reve.”
The first commercial for the new property had Mr. Wynn standing on top of his newest casino saying, “I’m Steve Wynn and this is my new hotel – the only one I’ve ever signed my name to.”
Wynn Las Vegas Opens
Exactly five years after acquiring the Desert Inn, the $2.7-billion Wynn Las Vegas opened its doors to the public on April 28, 2005. According to the Las Vegas Sun, more than 10,000 visitors visited Wynn on its first day of operations.
When it opened, the Wynn was a single, 614-foot-tall hotel tower with 2,716 rooms and suites. The property was designed by architect DeRuyter Butler and interior designer Roger Thomas.
The building’s modern, curved, and sleek bronze-tinted glass tower was a unique architectural statement for Las Vegas – and it still stands out today on the north end of the Strip.
Inside, Thomas used a design philosophy called “evoca-tecture,” a term he created for evoking emotion through design and architecture. This concept sets the tone for everything visitors experience, from the moment they step into the casino to the time they spend in their hotel rooms and throughout the property.
Wynn was Thomas’s chance to flip the script on the dark, boxy casino layouts of the past. He created open spaces filled with natural light and incorporated floral and nature-inspired elements throughout the property.
Guests can still spot these touches today, from the butterflies on the casino carpet to the skylights that let sunlight pour into the property.
As an avid art collector, Wynn once displayed many of his favorite pieces throughout the casino. While some of those works are no longer on site, the property continues to showcase pieces from a variety of renowned artists.
Exceptional customer service has been a hallmark of the Wynn since Day 1. While high-end customers typically expect top-tier service from luxury resorts, Wynn made it a standard for everyone who visits.
Believe it or not, some Las Vegas casinos reserve similar top-tier service for their top-tier loyalty members.
The property originally featured 18 restaurants, including Wing Lei, SW Steakhouse, and the iconic Wynn buffet – all of which are still open today. Much like at Bellagio, several of Wynn’s restaurants offer views of water features, adding to the ambiance.
Wynn preserved one special feature from the Desert Inn: the golf course. Steve Wynn brought in renowned course designer Tom Fazio to create the Wynn Golf Club, complete with lush greenery and a stunning waterfall – elements rarely seen at Las Vegas casinos.
The original casino floor measured 110,000 square feet and included 1,962 slot machines and 137 table games. With the addition of the Encore Tower, the gaming space has since expanded significantly.
Wynn Las Vegas expands
In 2008, Wynn expanded with the addition of the Encore Tower. While it looks similar to the original tower on the outside, the vibe inside is a bit different. On opening day, senior vice president of design Jerry Beale said, “We think of Encore as the flirty younger sister of Wynn.”
The design of Encore leans more modern and youthful, but it still exudes elegance and sophistication. Encore is a suite-only hotel with 2,034 rooms, each starting at 700 square feet.
At its launch, Encore added a 72,000-square-foot casino to the property. Today, Wynn Las Vegas boasts a total of 193,501 square feet of gaming space between the two towers. This includes more than 7,000 square feet dedicated to both the sportsbook and poker room, according to the most recent data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Encore also brought space for a new nightclub, XS, and five new restaurants, including the still-beloved Sinatra. As of now, Wynn offers more than 20 restaurants under one roof.
To connect the two towers – which are just a short walk apart – Wynn added 11 retail shops, giving guests an upscale shopping experience as they move between towers. But that wasn’t the final word on retail expansion.
In 2018, the property unveiled the Wynn Plaza Shops. In addition to offering high-end stores, the 70,000-square-foot addition also serves as another entry point for guests walking in from the Las Vegas Strip.
And the Wynn Plaza Shops could eventually become the entrance to something even bigger – perhaps a future hotel tower.
Paused Expansions
In 2016, Wynn announced what many saw as either a game-changing expansion or strange addition to a luxury casino-resort. The company actually started moving ground to build what it dubbed “Wynn Paradise Park.”
The concept for the $1.5 billion, 38-acre Paradise Park was to expand beyond the traditional luxury market and attract more families to the Wynn experience. Plans included a manmade lagoon with a beach and boardwalk, new restaurants, a smaller 1,000-room hotel tower with a boutique casino, and a new convention center – built on part of the land previously occupied by Wynn Golf Club.
Steve Wynn envisioned a 38-acre lagoon where guests could water ski, paddleboard, or go parasailing. He planned on a nightly carnival-type parade with fireworks. All of this would still be considered an entirely new kind of attraction on the Vegas Strip.
The company actually dug up half the golf course to start construction. The course has since been rebuilt. Wynn Golf Club remains the only Vegas Strip golf course connected to a casino.
The overall concept was wild – even by Las Vegas standards. The plan was scrapped in 2018, shortly after Wynn left the company.
Days before leaving the company, Wynn announced an expansion across the street from the property, on vacant land the company still owns. The project was dubbed “Wynn West” and would have included 3,000 more hotel rooms, a casino, restaurants, and more. Even though this was a more traditional expansion, it was put on hold by the new regime.
Current leadership says the company will eventually use the vacant land on the west side of the Vegas Strip, next to the Fashion Show Mall and in front of the Trump Hotel. However, there is no timetable for this expansion.
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